Alex Cross is a 2012 American crime thriller film directed by Rob Cohen and starring Tyler Perry as the titular character and Matthew Fox as the villain Picasso. The adapted screenplay was written by Marc Moss and Kerry Williamson. This is the third film appearance of the character Alex Cross, the main character in a series of novels by James Patterson. Cross was previously portrayed by Morgan Freeman in Kiss the Girls (1997) and Along Came a Spider (2001). In 2010, Idris Elba was hired to play Cross but he was replaced by Perry. Filming took place in 2011. The film was released on October 19, 2012 in the United States and Canada.
Plot
Dr. Alex Cross (Tyler Perry) is a psychologist and police lieutenant who lives in Detroit with his wife, Maria (Carmen Ejogo), their children, Damon and Janelle, and his mother, Nana Mama (In the original books the family live in Washington DC and Nana Mama is Cross's grandmother – in this film he calls her "Mama" and she calls him "Son"). Upon learning that Maria is pregnant with their third child, Cross considers accepting a job as an FBI profiler with a 35 per cent pay rise, but fears Maria's reaction, as it would require them to relocate to Washington, D.C. Meanwhile, a man called Picasso (Matthew Fox) participates in an underground ultimate fighting match, where he flirts with businesswoman Fan Yau (Stephanie Jacobsen). After brutally beating his opponent, Picasso is invited to Fan Yau's house. There, he sedates, tortures, and kills her. He cuts off all her fingers and steals her laptop.
Police captain Richard Brookwell (John C. McGinley) calls Cross and his partner, Tommy Kane (Edward Burns), to the crime scene. On the way there, Cross tells Kane about Maria's pregnancy and the FBI's offer, and guesses that Kane is secretly dating their colleague, Monica Ashe (Rachel Nichols). Investigating Yau's murder, Cross deduces that Picasso is former military and a professional assassin. Cross finds a sketch left behind by Picasso and deduces that his next target is German businessman, Erich Nunemarcher (Werner Daehn). Cross, Kane and Ashe go to Nunemarcher's office but he has his own heavily armed security and tells the police that he has no need of their help. Picasso, however, is already inside the building but is prevented from killing Nunemarcher by Cross, and escapes after being shot in the shoulder by Kane.
Cross realizes the real target is billionaire CEO Giles Mercier (Jean Reno). Cross informs Mercier that Picasso might be trying to kill him. Meanwhile, as revenge for their earlier interference, Picasso attacks Ashe, sedating and beating her; and later murders Maria with a sniper shot while she is at dinner with Cross to discuss her pregnancy and the possible move to Washington. At Cross's home after Maria's funeral, Picasso calls Cross to provoke him telling him that he (Cross) is responsible for Maria's death. Kane then finds out the drug Picasso uses on his victims paralyzes but does not numb the body, which meant Ashe felt everything Picasso did to her. Cross and Kane determine to bring him down. Cross has Detroit police take Nana Mama and the children out of the city, protecting them from Picasso.
Cross and Kane break into the evidence locker, and steal a gun. Later at a car lot, Cross blackmails Daramus Holiday to tell him where Picasso gets his drugs. Cross tells him that he knows Daramus killed someone with the gun he and Kane stole. Kane also threatens to shoot Holiday. Cross and Kane arrive at a drug dealer's hideout. After beating him, Cross demands that they see his security camera footage. Seeing the footage, Cross and Kane learn Picasso's car's license plate.
Cross and Kane learn Mercier is attending at a conference and fearing that this will be an opportunity for Picasso to kill him get Brookwell to clear the area. Picasso, however, does not need to be in the area as he fires a bazooka from a moving train. Cross and Kane chase after Picasso, and have Jody Kenbanoff, a fellow detective, trace the car at the Michigan Theater, which is now a car park. Cross and Kane corner Picasso by crashing their car, stopping him but injuring Kane. Cross chases Picasso into the abandoned cinema. During their fight, they fall through the crumbling theater roof. Cross manages to hold on to a beam but Picasso dangles from his belt. Picasso taunts him, Cross then knees him in his face yelling "Die!" and Picasso falls to his death below. Kane arrives just before Cross loses his grip.
Cross eventually learns that Picasso's employer was Mercier himself. Having embezzled money from his clients, Mercier asked for Yau and Nunemarcher's help to fake his death and flee to Bali, and then hired Picasso to eliminate Yau, Nunemarcher and a double pretending to be the real Mercier. Cross is able to frame Mercier for drug smuggling and informs the local police. Mercier is arrested in Indonesia where he will be condemned to death by firing squad. Having avenged Maria's murder, Cross decides to accept the FBI's offer and move to Washington with his family. Before he leaves, Kane reveals that he also applied for a job with the FBI. After expressing his hope that he and Cross will work together again one day, they part ways. Cross then walks up to the house and watches Janelle and Damon. Nana comes down from upstairs and tells the kids to make sure they have everything. She notices Cross, smiles, and adds, "You don't want to leave anything behind that you love." The film ends with Cross staring, lovingly, at his family.
